Ruin Me
by imtrashandimproud
Summary: Annie has succeeded in capturing Eren and brought him to her homeland. Alternate timeline, obviously. Branches off from my other fic and the end of that fic's chapter 9. To read the events, go to s/11821928/1/Annie-s-Heart. I will give major warnings before and after any smut I decide to write. Reviews are helpful. Thank you!
1. Chapter 1

For those of you that don't know, this is a continuation of my previous fic, Annie's Heart. Not quite a sequel, more like a separate timeline in which Annie succeeds in capturing Eren and bringing him back to her homeland. Only my second fanfiction, so please leave feedback on what to write about, how to improve, et cetera.

If you want to read the events that led up to this fic, it's this fic, chapters 1-9: s/11821928/1/Annie-s-Heart

Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 1:

 _Calm down, Annie._ She thought to herself. _You can do this._

Levi and Mikasa were formidable enough on their own. She had seen Mikasa in action, and heard the stories about Levi's ferocity in battle. Of course, those were against regular titans, which Annie was not. And she knew what they were there for.

 _I'm not going to let them take you, Eren._ Annie thought. _I don't care what the cost is._

Annie turned to punch at Levi. Levi dodged and slashed with his blades, a deadly cyclone working its way up her arm. He stopped in front of her and got ready to dig his blades into her eyes. For the second time, Annie was blinded by the flesh-paring blades of an elite Survey Corps member.

 _Just like last time,_ Annie thought, _Only one eye. Half the time._ She felt blades tearing away at her flesh, hacking and slashing. Overwhelming her. She backed against a tree and fell down, back against the trunk.

 _You won't take him._ Annie thought, _I'm not going to let you take away the only thing I care about!_

Annie flashed back to what Mikasa had told her during training, what seemed like an eternity ago. _If you do anything to hurt him, anything at all, I will kill you_.

 _You're welcome to try._

Annie dropped her arm from her nape. It was a risk, but if she was going to get out of here with Eren, she needed to distract Levi. Killing Mikasa wouldn't work, Levi would just be that much more determined to get Eren back. But if she injured her...

She felt a hook grab onto her nape. _Perfect._

Annie quickly brought her hand up again, grabbing onto the cable. She yanked it down, sending Mikasa off course. Her eye had regenerated and she opened it to see Mikasa smack into the tree right next to her and let out a cry of pain.

"Ackerman!" Levi yelled, and the slashing stopped, just as Annie had predicted. Levi had halted his assault and scooped up Mikasa, whisking her away to a nearby tree.

Annie seized the opportunity and spit out Eren onto the ground, wincing and apologizing internally as he hit the ground. She would have to act fast. Separating her body from the titan body, Annie jumped quickly and engaged her 3DM gear. She shot forward and scooped up Ere, hoisting him over her shoulder.

Good, he was still unconscious. She shot forward, away from her titan's smoldering body and into the thick forest. She turned in time to see that Levi had returned, but didn't know where she had gone. As he cut the titan's mouth open to reveal nothing outside of an enormous tongue and set of teeth, Annie smiled to herself. She had done it.

Annie flew on her maneuver gear until her her gas almost ran out. Trees flew by, and time did as well. The sun was almost setting when she reached her destination, a crumbling church that the Wallist cult used to gather in back before Rose fell. She slowed to a stop and draped Eren's arm over her shoulder, walking him into the building.

Reiner and Bertholdt were waiting inside. Reiner was, as always, crossing his arms and scowling, but when he saw Annie walk inside, his expression softened. "You did it, then."

"It didn't go according to plan, exactly," Annie muttered, "but, yeah. I got him back safely."

It wasn't until now that Annie had realized just how _monumental_ this was. She had gotten Eren away from safety, and not only that, but maybe the others even thought he was dead and wouldn't go looking for him. Relief flooded Annie's system and she let out a breath, and gave a faint smile.

Reiner gave a congratulatory nod. "You did good, Annie."

The compliment flowed around Annie like water, barely registering at all to her. She thought back to all the people she had killed. She had kept count of them. Nineteen. nineteen lives that she had personally claimed, nineteen families left to mourn their losses. Thanks to her.

She pushed the thought away. _I got Eren back._ She thought, _That's all that matters._

"He's still unconscious." She muttered.

"Yeah, he is." Reiner said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a syringe. "This should keep him that way for a while. Should be more than enough time for the trip back home."

Annie nodded and watched Reiner jab the needle into Eren's arm, pushing the green fluid into his bloodstream.

"Let's go." Reiner said. "Annie and I will shift into titan forms for the trip back. Bertholdt, I'll carry you. Annie, carry Eren."

Annie stepped out the door and once more into the cool air. The sunset from the outside was beautiful, but Annie couldn't focus on it. Instead, her mind lingered on what would happen next. She couldn't keep Eren in the dark forever. She would have to tell him everything, eventually. She didn't plan on leaving the details out, Eren had a right to know absolutely everything that happened. When she told him, Annie knew that he would hate her guts.

* * *

Eren woke up on a bed in a dark room. His hands were bound above his head and his feet were tied to the bedposts.

 _Where am I?_ Eren thought, _The last thing I remember is... Oh shit! The female titan!_

Eren yanked on his wrists, trying to free them from the rope that tied them together.

"Don't strain yourself." A voice said from the corner of the room. Eren turned to see a muscular, toned man with long, shaggy blonde hair that reached his shoulders, and a wispy mustache. He wore loose pants and no shirt, and a pair of circular glasses similar to the ones Erwin read with. His composure also reminded Eren of his commander, stoic and demanding. However, the similarities ended there. This man was completely different from Erwin. There was something wild, untamable inside him. Eren knew instantly that this man was no friend.

"Who are you?" Eren asked.

"I don't think the answer to that question," the man began, "is as important as the answer to the question, 'who are _you?_ '"

Eren stayed silent. This guy was starting to freak him out.

"Of course," the man continued, "I already know the answer to that question. You're Eren Yeager, and you're from Shiganshina. You're a member of the so-called 'Scouting Regiment, and were a graduate of the 104th cadet corps. Ranked number five in your class. It's nearly commendable. You're almost on the same level as my subordinates. They all graduated above you."

Eren didn't understand. What the hell was this guy going on about? "Wait," Eren said, "if you know so much about me, why did you ask who I was?"

The man walked over to the bed. "Because, Eren, there's more to you than what I jsut mentioned. Not only are you all of that, but you're a titan shifter."

Eren yanked and struggled against the bonds. "What do you _want_ with me? Who even _are_ you?" He asked.

The man simply sighed. "Oh well." He stood up and walked to the door. As he opened it, light flooded in, blinding Eren. It must be midday. The man turned to the side and said, "you can see him now."

Three figures ran into the room, one small and two large. The small one held a lantern. The dim light illuminated the room and Eren's eyes could make out three faces. He was expecting more strangers, but no, these were people he all knew.

"Bertholdt! Reiner!" Eren's eyes widened and a smile spread across his face. He was grateful to see friends. He turned to the other figure. "Annie!"

Annie hugged him and Eren could feel wetness pressed against his cheek where her eyes were. Had she been crying?

"So you hug people now?" Reiner joked.

"Shut up and let me enjoy this, dickhead." Annie snapped.

Annie pulled away and Eren could see her clearly for the first time in what was probably days. She held her right arm with her left and seemed to carry a much gloomier atmosphere with her than usual. He tried to meet her gaze, but she looked to the ground. What happened to her?

"Eren, are you okay?" Bertholdt asked.

"Apart from being tied to this bed, yeah, I'm pretty good." Eren joked. "Hey, speaking of which, could one of you guys untie me?"

The smiles melted off Reiner and Bertholdt. "I'm sorry, but no." Bertholdt apologized. "Commander Zeke's orders."

"Commander Zeke?" Eren asked, "Is that the guy that was just in here?"

Reiner nodded. "Yeah. He told us not to undo your bindings no matter what."

"That's stupid." Eren noted, "Where are we anyways? Are we back within Wall Rose?"

Reiner and Bertholdt looked at Annie. "You wanna handle this?" Reiner asked.

Annie kept staring at the ground, but she nodded. "Yeah. I'll tell him."

Bertholdt and Reiner walked out of the room. Before closing the door, Reiner turned around. "Oh, by the way, Eren... If you need anything, just give us a shout, okay? Food, water... Anything."

The door creaked shut, leaving Annie and Eren in the darkness, alone. Annie pulled up a chair. "Eren..." She began. Eren could hear her voice cracking. "We aren't within the walls."

"Well, where are we?" Eren prompted, voicing one of the millions of questions gnawing away at his consciousness.

"We're in my home village." Annie answered, "This is where I grew up."

"You grew up outside the walls?" Eren asked. "Annie, you aren't making sense. No people live outside the walls. It's just titan territory out there."

"Well," Annie said, "that's the thing. Everyone in this village... Everyone living in Homeland... We're all titans."

"Annie, you're making even less sense than usual. Are you saying that you grew up in a village of titans?"

Annie nodded. "Eren, what was the last thing you remember from before you woke up?"

"Well, I was fighting this titan. An abnormal, unlike anything that's ever been catalogued. And it... It kicked me?" Eren racked his brain, trying to remember. "I don't know. It happened so fast. All I know is that I blacked out while fighting it. And now, I'm here."

"Eren, I..." Annie began, struggling for words. "I'm the one who..."

"Annie, what's wrong?" Eren was concerned. He was grateful that they were together again, but the whole 'mysterious' bullshit was hurting his head. "You're the one who what?"

"I'm the one who you fought." Annie said slowly.

Eren was taken aback. Had she gone completely insane? She couldn't have been the female titan, she was safe inside Stohess District. "Annie, you're talking crazy."

"No, Eren, I'm serious." Annie declared. "I'm the female titan."

"No, you're not!" Eren insisted. "If you were the female titan, why would yo udo that? Do any of that? Huh? The female titan killed over a dozen good men and women. You'd never do soemthing like that, Annie!"

"But I did!" Annie argued. Eren could see the tears streaming down her face. "I killed them, Eren! I killed nineteen innocent people who were just doing their jobs!"

"Shut up, Annie!" Eren screamed. "You are _not_ the female titan!"

"Eren," Annie gave the driest smile Eren had ever seen, "what did the female titan look like? Blonde hair, shoulder length, gray-blue eyes... Even the fucking nose is the same, Eren!"

It was true, Eren had to admit. There was a resemblance. "So what?" He asked, "What kind of proof is 'I look like the female titan'?"

"Eren, the female titan knew every move you made when you two fought. It knew every combo, every punch and kick. Only three people know that fighting style, Eren, and that's you, me, and my dad."

This was also true, wasn't it? Could Annie, sweet, beautiful, _perfect_ Annie, really be that cold-blooded murderous monster? Eren thought back to the fight. He wanted to think that the female titan was mirroring his stance, but...

"Shut up..." Eren whispered, barely loud enough for even himself to hear.

"Wh... What?" Annie asked.

"Shut up!" Eren screamed, coming to terms with it. The truth was, he had a slight, nagging suspicion when he saw the stance. And here she was, openly admitting to all of it. "Just fucking shut up! Why did you do that, Annie?! Why?! Why did you kill those people?!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Annie screamed back, her voice breaking. "They got in the way of my mission, I had no choice!"

"That's bullshit! What the fuck were you trying to accomplish anyways?"

"I was trying to get to you! And bring you back here!"

"Annie, god dammit, why the fuck would you do that?!" Rage blinded Eren. The girl in front of him suddenly seemed so unfamiliar, so alien. Like a completely different person. "Why would you kill nineteen people just to bring me back here?!"

"...I wanted you safe..." Annie whispered. Eren saw her hang her head, and caught light reflecting off the tears as they fell away from her face and dropped onto the ground, meaningless.

"Yeah," Eren said sarcastically, "killing my friends, almost killing me, dragging me somewhere I don't even know, real fucking safe, Annie. A plus plus."

Annie winced at the words. "I had to, Eren. I _had_ to. And I spared Mikasa and Armin, I could have killed them but I didn't, Eren. I let them live! I didn't want to kill anybody!"

"Oh, congratulations!" Eren said, "You've earned the 'not as much of a scumbag as you could have been' award!"

"You don't even know their names." Eren said, almost pleading. "You butchered them all like they were animals and you don't even know _that_. I think that you should have at least learned the names of my squadmates before you killed them."

Annie looked up, and even in the dim lantern light, Eren could see her tears. Normally, he would have comforted her, but now, he didn't care. "Oluo. He's the one you kicked into the tree. Gunther is the one you killed with your blades. You snapped Eld out of the air with your teeth. And the one you stepped on?" Eren could feel his own tears well up in his eyes. "The one you crushed like a bug? That was Petra."

"Eren," Annie whispered, reaching out instinctively to his chest. Eren glared at her and she stopped, and drew her hand away. She still wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Eren, you always talked about..." Annie whispered, "you always talked about how you wanted to live away from that world. Away from all the death, all the destruction, away from the world where you wake up and ask if today is the day you die. You wanted to live in peace, with me, remember?"

Eren did.

"Well... Homeland is that place, Eren." Annie stated, "We don't have to live like caged animals in here. We're free out here. We can live peacefully, together. Just the two of us. We don't have to suffer anymore, Eren. I can introduce you to my father... and we could visit him on weekends... and maybe even get married one day."

The words made Eren sick. "Get the fuck away from me." He whispered. Annie looked at him, brokenhearted. _Good,_ Eren thought.

"I said that I wanted to live my life with Annie Leonhardt, the girl I fell in love with, not Annie Leonhardt, the girl who slaughtered my friends. I don't know who the hell you are, and frankly, I don't want to know. As a matter of fact, I never want to see you again."

"Eren," Annie begged, "I-"

"Annie, stop." Eren shut his eyes, holding back any more tears that might try to escape. "Don't you get it? We're finished."

Annie stared at him, defeated and quiet, for a long time. Eventually, she stood up and trudged towards the door. She opened it wordlessly and looked back. Eren continued to glare at her, and she looked away, unable to take anymore. She closed the door, leaving Eren in the dark with his thoughts.

* * *

 _Eren was back in the training yard. He and Annie had just finished a sparring session and the two of them were sitting down, side by side. Annie was resting her head on Eren's shoulders, and Eren was leaning his head on top of Annie's. They were both aware of Connie and Sasha snickering at them from behind the barracks, but neither of them really cared._

 _"Annie," Eren asked. "What do you like about me?"_

 _Annie was quiet for awhile and Eren wondered if there was anything at all she_ would _like about him. "Well," she spoke, "you're driven, passionate, you actually took the time to get to know me. You're caring, and you're sweet, and considerate. And you've got this fire inside of you that urges you on, keeps you fighting."_

 _Eren soaked all of this information in. He had always regarded Annie's demeanor as somewhat icy. Ice to his fire, he chuckled internally._

 _"Plus," Annie cooed, rubbing the inside of his thigh, inching it towards his crotch, "You're_ really _good in bed."_

 _Eren looked at her. She was grinning coyly and Eren felt himself get harder as she rubbed him through his pants. "Annie, not now, please?"_

 _Annie shrugged but obliged. "Can we do tonight?"_

 _Eren grinned a little bit. He knew exactly what she wanted, and frankly, had been wanting some himself. "Sure. Tonight, usual spot."_

 _Annie sighed. "I'm glad I met you, Yeager."_

 _"Yeah," Eren agreed, "So am I."_

I'm going to marry her one day, _Eren thought. He would never voice this thought for many years, but he added to his mental checklist of things to do before he died. Exterminate the titans, graduate with a ranking above Jean Kirstein, marry Annie._

Yeah, _Eren thought,_ I'm going to marry her one day.

* * *

Eren woke up in a new room. He was no longer tied to the bed, but the door was barred and the walls stone brick. There was what looked to be a restroom to his left. Apart from that, the room was similar, which is to say, empty except for a bed. Reiner stood on the opposite side of the barred door with his usual crossed-arms scowly-face demeanor.

"Let me guess," Eren said, exasperated, "you're a titan too?"

"Yep," Reiner affirmed, "the armored titan, as a matter of fact. Berthodlt is the colossal titan."

Eren was too numb to care. He thought about the previous day and remembered telling Annie that they were through. His heart felt heavy, cold and hot at the same time. He hated her, hated her with all of his soul. But a tiny, _tiny_ part of him couldn't help but feel bad for shouting at her.

"By the way," Reiner said, interrupting Eren's thoughts and pointing to the corner of the room to Eren's left, "Annie told me to bring that in for you."

Eren looked to where Reiner's hand was pointed and recognized the object, folded neatly and tucked away in the corner. It was the deerskin blanket.


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is a little bit longer than the others, so I hope that makes up for the fact that i havent posten in a few days. O'm working on the enxt chapter for Annie's Heart too, so hopefully thatll be up before I go to sleep tonight. Enjoy!

* * *

Chaper 2:

Sure, Eren was alive, but at what cost to Annie? He hated her, just like she knew he would. And despite having known he would hate her, despite having known that her actions would make him sick, nothing, _nothing_ could have prepared her for the heartbreak that ensued, the look of bitter resentment and disappointment in his eyes as he realized the truth about what she did, _what she was._

His words thundered trhough her head even now, days after he had said them. _Get the fuck away from me,_ he told her. _I never want to see you again,_ he told her. _Don't you get it? We're finished._ He told her.

At least her father was proud of her. She had completed her mission and returned home to him, just like she had promised he would. As she sat in her old bedroom in his house, she lamented over her decisions and thought about Eren. At least she still had the memories, mental photographs of their wonderful perfect past.

"Annie?" Her father said from the other side of the locked door. "It's been three days. When are you going to come out?"

A realization came to Annie, it was morning. It was morning, and still, none of the events were erased. She hadn't eaten or slept since returning to her father's house, despite the food he had slipped under her door. She had barely even left her room, except to use the bathroom.

Rising from her bed to look in her mirror, she barely recognized the figure that stared back at her. Gaunt, sunken, _hollow_. Hair a tangled mess, eyes glazed and emotionless, quiet, defeated. She shook herself from her trance and walked over to the door. She turned the knob and noticed the concerned image of her father standing in front of her.

"Annie," he said uncomfortably, "what happened?"

She gave him no response at first. She didn't even look at him, just _towards_ him, with eyes that bore through him without really seeing him.

"Bertholdt and Reiner are very worried about you, you know." He voiced. "Maybe you should pay them a visit."

"No." Annie said quietly. "I don't want to see them."

Her father looked away uncomfortably. "Well, if that's the case, you should at least eat something. You haven't touched any of the food I left for you."

"I'm not hungry." Annie answered.

Silence hung through the air as if suspended from strings. Then, "Father, do you remember what you told me before I left?"

Her father tilted his head slightly. "That I would always be by your side, even if the entire world hates you. To never give in, no matter how horrible things got. And to come back to me. Of course I remember it. Why?"

"You also said you would understand." Annie replied softly. "What did you mean by that?"

"Annie, is this about the Yeager boy?"

Annie looked up. How did he know?

"Reiner told me that you two had an, ah... Intimate... Relationship." Her father said, seemingly having read her thoughts.

"Yes," Annie relented, "it's about Eren."

Annie's father put her hand on his daughter's shoulder and looked her straight in the eye. "Eren Yeager is not like us. He may be a titan-shifter, but he is nothing like us."

"I know he is." Annie replied, "But that doesn't mean I can't care about him, does it?"

"Annie," her father sighed, "I warned you about this. I told you not to let people get close, didn't I? That then, they'd be able to hurt you. Look at yourself. You're more hurt than I've ever seen you in my entire life. You shouldn't have let him get close."

"I couldn't help it." Annie argued. "I _wanted_ him close. I wanted us to be by each other's side."

"Yes, Annie," her father exhaled, "and now at how badly he's hurt you."

"But I've hurt him too!"

Silence.

"Annie, that's different."

"No, it isn't." Annie replied. She walked past him and opened their door, and left the house behind her.

* * *

Eren sat on the bed. Reiner stood on the other side of the barred door, and the two talked as they ate. It wasn't that Eren enjoyed Reiner's company, rather, Reiner was tasked with bringing Eren his meals, and between him, Bertholdt and Annie, Reiner was the _least_ hated by Eren.

Besides. If he didn't have conversations regularly, the solitude would drive him insane.

Mostly, they talked about the weather, and Reiner explained how shifting worked, and how the ability was transferred. The idea that Eren had probably been turned into a titan and then eaten a shifter to possess the ability didn't sit well with him. But who was the shifter?

Today's meal was mashed potatoes and boiled vegetables. Eren looked at the dish and was reminded of their cadet days. The meal had been served to them regularly when they were trainees, and much merriment and laughter was exchanged over the exact type of food that sat in Eren's lap. He prodded at the food, wondering if his friends were still alive.

"Hey, asshole," Eren called.

Reiner had gotten used to the title, since Eren refused to address any of them by name, and looked up. "Yeah?"

"Tell me something." Eren began. "When we were eating this stuff back in the mess hall, promising that we'd all survive, that we'd kill off all the titans and take back the world... When we were promising that we were going to all grow old together, and drink in the taverns and exchange war stories about how we defeated the titans... What was going through your head? Were you sneering inside, thinking to yourself that we were all going to die? Or did you just not care?"

"I tried not to think about our mission." Reiner admitted. "But... some part of me, some small part of me, had meant it. Somewhere, deep down inside of me, I wanted it all to be true. I wanted to be your comrade, and kill all the titans alongside you."

"But that didn't stop you."

Reiner paused. "No. It didn't."

Eren was silent for a long time. "Alright. I'm done talking to you. Go away."

As Reiner left, Eren allowed his mind to wander. He tried to keep it away from thinking about Annie, but she had tainted so much of his thought process.

 _This room is very small. Dark, with no decorations and little furniture. The bed is very hard and uncomfortable. It reminds me of my old bed in the barracks of the training grounds. A bed that Annie and I had..._

 _Dammit. Thought about her again._

Eren wasn't sure what to think of Annie. He hated her so much, he wanted her out of his life forever. Wished, desperately, that he could erase her from his memories and forget about the way she had made him feel, how her lips tasted when they kissed for the first time in the infirmary, how she would always rest her head on his shoulder, how comfortable they both were, wrapped up in the _fucking_ deerksin blanket that lay in the corner of his cell, still untouched.

But a part of him wanted to hold onto those memories too.

Because no matter how much he hated Annie Leonhardt, hated her to his very core... He couldn't manage to stop loving her either. He hated her so much, and yet he still loved her. Like water that was boiling and freezing into icy vapor at the same time.

 _What is wrong with me?_ Eren wondered. _Why can't I just pick one?_

The door creaked open again. Eren wondered if it was Reiner, coming to say or ask something he had forgotten to mention. Instead, though, it was Commander Zeke. Once again, shirtless. Eren kept silent as the older man walked towards the barred door.

"I'm going to ask you a question that you are going to answer." Zeke said.

"Okay," Eren replied.

"Listen closely. What are you, exactly?"

Eren thought about it. He had been asked that question before, only this time, there was no artillery cannon aimed at him and Mikasa and Armin were not around. "I'm a human." He replied.

Zeke regarded the boy. "I see. You're a human, with the ability to appear as a titan. How odd."

"Wait," Eren asked, "how can it be odd? Your entire village is full of humans who can turn into titans."

"That, Yeager, is where you're wrong. We aren't like you. We aren't humans with the ability to appear as titans, oh no. We're titans, with the ability to appear human."

The man made Eren uncomfortable on quite a number of levels. Normal titans possessed no intelligent thought. How could one possibly be as intelligent as Zeke?

"Yeager," Zeke continued, "we believe you have some special... Ability. It's called the Coordinate."

"What's that?" Eren asked, genuinely bewildered. He already had one strange ability that he didn't understand, he didn't need another.

"You'll see. We're going to do a test tomorrow."

"What kind of test?"

"You'll see." Zeke echoed himself.

* * *

 _Eren's dreams were troubled. It started with faces, faces of people he knew, faces of people he saw die. Oluo, Petra, Gunther, Eld, his mother. They all stood around Eren's house, which had been rebuilt, along with the rest of Shiganshina. Eren's squadmates were talking to his mother about how excellent he was during the fighting, how brave he was._

 _"Of course," Oluo began, hands on his hips and chest puffed up, "He's still not nearly as good as I am. As far as combat goes, he could use a lot of work."_

 _Petra pinched his cheek. "Be quiet, Oluo. At least he didn't wet himself on his first excursion like you did."_

 _Oluo turned indignantly. "You wet yourself on your first excursion too!" He called. The others chuckled to themselves._

 _"All that aside," a gruff voice said, and Eren turned to see Levi and Hanji walking up to the house. Levi continued, "your son has performed excellently. You should be proud."_

 _"And," Hanji said, "the samples we got from him proved instrumental in our understanding of the titans, knowledge without which we would never have beaten them."_

 _Had they beaten the titans?_

 _"It's over, then, yes?" Eren's mother asked. "We aren't in any more danger? There are no more titans?"_

 _"It would seem that way, yes." Levi answered. "Your son, and everyone else, is safe."_

 _Eren's mother smiled and closed her eyes as tears started to roll down her cheeks. She turned to Eren. "I'm proud of you. All of you."_

 _Eren turned and saw Mikasa and Armin standing on his right side. They were okay! "We did it, guys." He beamed. They smiled back._

 _He turned to his left, and saw Annie. How long had she been standing there? He turned back to his mother. "Oh, by the way, Mom, this is Annie. She's my girlfriend."_

 _His mother smiled. "Nice to meet you, Annie." She extended a hand. Annie, slightly flustered, reached out to shake it._

 _Eren turned up to look at the sky. The birds were flying overhead. Free. Just like the rest of them, now that the titans were all dead. His fingers laced through Annie's_

* * *

Eren woke up with tears in his eyes. He couldn't remember his dream, only that it made him feel sad and hopeless, full of remorse. Turning to the door, he could see Bertholdt standing on the other side, keyring in one hand and syringe in the other. "Eren," he began.

"What do you want, shitstain?" Eren asked, annoyed.

Bertholdt was also getting annoyed, it seemed. "We're going to do a little experiment today."

"Do I have a choice?" Eren asked.

"Not if you want to keep eating food." Bertholdt replied. He held up the needle. "This is a shot that will keep your shifting ability suppressed for a few hours. You'll need to take it before we can proceed."

Eren stood up and walked over to the barred gate. Reluctantly, he pulled up his sleeve to reveal his shoulder. Bertholdt stuck the needle in his arm and injected the fluid in him. It made him feel a little colder, and slightly numb. Bertholdt put a sleeve on the needle of he syringe.

"Good." He said, as he unlocked the door, "Now come with me."

The door opened and for the first time in days, Eren stepped out of his cell. He followed Bertholdt up the stairs.

"Eren," Bertholdt said as he opened the door to the outside, "let me make something clear."

"What is it, shitstain?" Eren asked, still refusing to acknowledge Betholdt by his name.

"Don't call me that. Anyways, I want you to stay away from Annie."

Eren wasn't sure what he felt. Offended? Humored? "Don't bother telling me what to do." He snapped. "I already told her I never wanted to see her again, and she hasn't swung by since."

"Good." Bertholdt said, still not looking at Eren. "She's too good for you."

Okay, _now_ Eren was offended. "What the fuck did you just say?" He challenged.

"Annie doesn't deserve some human like you. You guys are nothing but trouble. You've always been the greatest threats to the world, not titans. You're sick and revolting and abhorrent creatures."

Eren wasn't used to Bertholdt being this talkative. "That's funny, shitstain. I seem to recall you having quite a few human friends back when we were cadets."

Bertholdt avoided the jab. "You aren't good enough for her." He said meekly.

"What, like you are?" Eren snapped back.

"Of course not." Bertholdt admitted. "I just want what's best for her."

 _So do I._ Eren thought.

 _No you don't,_ he snapped back to himself, _you hate her guts._

 _But I love her too, still. Even if it is just a little bit._

Eren struggled internally with himself as he approached a big metal cage. Three titans stood outside of it. One was about thirteen meters tall, another slightly shorter, probably closer to eleven meters. They were holding back another titan, one considerably smaller, probably close to eight meters tall. Another titan, hairy and ape-like, sat on top of the cage.

 _The big two are probably other shifters,_ Eren thought, _and the smaller one is probably a normal titan. Whatever they are,_ _I don't like the look of the cage, or the one on top of it._

It was a barred cube, twenty meters tall, easily, with a large hole in the center of the roof. Eren noted how the Shifters were holding the titan back, which probably meant they were going to use it for something. Were they going to stick it in the cage and then throw Eren in?

Eren considered running. But where would he run? He had no idea which way home was, and even if he did run he was more likely to be caught or killed by a shifter.

He would have to just wait and see.

Bertholdt opened a gate in the side of the cage and motioned for Eren to enter. Eren stepped inside, and Bertholdt closed the gate behind him. The shorter shifter reached out and opened a much larger door on the other side. Just as Eren suspected, they were going to throw him in the cage with the titan, unarmed.

Eren started to panic. He hadn't even taken down a titan with his gear, how the hell was he supposed to be able to do it without it? The shifters pushed the normal titan into the cage and slid the door shut behind it.

Bertholdt said that the shot he received would render him unable to transform, but was he being serious, or just bluffing? He turned around to ask, but Bertholdt had already left and was nowhere in sight. So, Eren turned back around and brought his hand up to his mouth. _Kill the titan,_ he thought, as he bit down. Nothing. He bit harder and felt warm metallic blood eek into his mouth. Still, nothing. The titan had spotted him and was walking towards him. He was beginning to seriously fear for his life.

Bertholdt wasn't lying.

He was going to have to take the titan down another way.

The titan turned towards Eren and started to lumber forward. Eren could feel his heart pounding in his chest, almost louder than the footsteps of the titan.

And then, it stopped. A baffled Eren took a step back, watching in a mixture of horror and confusion as the titan turned its attention upwards. Eren saw the large, hairy titan reaching out, holding something by a rope and dipping it into the cage through the hole in its top. It was a person, suspended by a harness on her back. Her blonde hair, which normally was kept in a bun, fell to her shoulders in a tangled mess. Her hands and feet were tied. She looked bruised, and a bloody rag was used as a gag, tied behind her head. Emotions welled up in Eren's chest. Grief, helplessness, panic. As conflicted as he was about her, nobody deserved to be eaten alive.

"Eren Yeager," a voice said. Eren turned upwards to see the large titan up on top of the cage. "I suggest that you use the Coordinate to save Annie, unless you don't mind her being eaten alive right in front of you." Was that titan Zeke?

"Annie!" Eren screamed. She saw him. Her eyes pleaded with him while the rest of her was flailing about.

"Eren!" Annie managed to scream through the gag.

"Just... Hang on!" Eren called back. He directed his attention to Zeke. "What the hell! You couldn't figure it out any other way? Was this your only fucking option?"

"No," Zeke admitted, "but it was the quickest and easiest."

"Leave her out of this!" Eren snarled, shooting a murderous look at the older man.

"But if I did that, I wouldn't learn anything." Zeke said, waving his giant titan hand.

Eren gritted his teeth. "I don't even know what the Coordinate is!" He screamed.

"Well, you had best figure it out soon." Zeke replied, dipping Annie slightly lower. Closer to the titan's grasp. She flailed around harder, trying to distance herself from the ravenous hands that clawed at her, missing her by only two meters.

"Stop!" Eren screamed at the caged titan. "Leave her alone!"

The titan ignored his pleas.

"Try again." Zeke said, lowering Annie by another meter."

"Leave her the fuck alone, you giant asshole!" Eren screamed. He pounded his chest with his fist. "I'm the one you want, so come and get me!"

The titan turned around and looked at Eren with a blank expression. Fortunately for Annie and unfortunately for Eren, it seemed to have worked. The titan took slow, deliberate steps toward Eren.

 _Shit,_ Eren thought.

Zeke, however, knowing what he needed to know now, jumped inside the cage through the opening. He grabbed the titan by the back of the neck and squeezed. Eren could hear the vertebrae being crushed and the titan went limp. It fell to the ground with a crash, kicking up a storm of dust.

When the dust settled, Eren stood completely unharmed and Annie lay down, still tied up but otherwise unharmed. She tried to speak through the gag, but it muffled her words and prevented coherent speech. Eren reached out and pulled the gag down out of her mouth.

"Thanks..." Annie spoke slowly. "Thanks for saving me."

"I didn't do it for you," Eren answered. "I did it because I didn't want to see anybody else get killed."

Annie looked at the ground. Eren could tell that she registered the jab at her murderous actions. "I'm sorry, Eren. I didn't have a chocie."

"Sorry doesn't un-kill my squad." Eren said, turning and walking off. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what he felt for Annie. He knew he still loved her, at least a little, but he was also full of bitterness and resent for her. But seeing her helpless and afraid like that struck a chord with Eren. It reminded him of just how fragile she was, despite her cold and rough exterior. Zeke had climbed down from the top of the cage and opened the gate for him.

"We're done for today, I take it?" Eren asked.

Zeke's titan nodded.

* * *

Annie was still upset at Zeke for putting her in the predicament. They had sedated her, and tied her up and gagged her while she was unconscious. Then they used her as "incentive" for Eren to unlock his new power. She wasn't entirely sure how the Coordinate was supposed to work, but was grateful when it did. Still, Eren's words rang through her head. _I didn't want to see anybody else get killed._

That comment had been meant for her, she knew. He didn't need to rub it in. She already felt horrible about what she had done.

She looked out into the night sky. Eren had been taken back to his cell after the "experiment" hours earlier, and she wasn't sure what to do.

"What are you thinking about?" Reiner's voice asked behind her.

Annie didn't reply.

"I see. Eren." Reiner surmised.

"What do I do?" Annie asked.

"I don't know." Was Reiner's reply. "I've never really been in love, so I'm not the best person to ask about this."

"Reiner, please help me." Annie asked. It was the first time she could recall asking for help. Reiner seemed to have realized this as well, because his expression softened.

"Try having a heart to heart with him." Reiner said. "I think that you can salvage your relationship. It's going to be difficult and precise business doing so, but I think it's possible. Talking to him would be a good way to start."

"Is he still awake?" Annie asked.

"Yeah, I just finished having dinner with him."

Annie stood up and walked in the direction of Eren's holding cell. The stone brick building came into view and she opened the wooden door, revealing a set of stairs leading underground. Annie wondered faintly what was left to say between them. She continued walking down the steps and stopped, wondering if this was a good idea.

 _Yeah,_ she thought to herself, _of course it is._

She rounded the corner and came to a barred door. On the other side of the door was Eren, doing pushups on the ground.

 _Figures, he would still be working out even in captivity._

"Eren," she called slightly.

Eren looked up and saw her. His face morphed into an emotion Annie didn't quite recognize, and he stood to his feet. "What?" He said as he stepped over to the barred door. He gripped the bars and looked through them, Annie could see his clouded, upset eyes boring into her.

"I wanted to talk." She began. What was she going to say?

"I don't want to talk." Eren replied.

"Then would you please just listen?"

Eren said nothing, continuing to stare at her through the iron bars.

Annie was unfamiliar with this. It had been so long since she and Eren had a legitimate heart to heart. She took a breath and readied herself.

"Eren, I'm sorry. I know I've said it a million times, but that's because it's true. I didn't want to hurt any of those people, but I had to. You've seen what Zeke is like, he wouldn't have accepted failure at all. Plus, I had you to think about. The walls aren't safe for you, but you're safe here, Eren. That's all I wanted, to keep you safe. We promised to do so, didn't we? That we'd keep each other safe?... You made good on that promise today, you know."

"I already told you," Eren interrupted, "I didn't do it for you. I did it because I've seen to many people die already."

"I know, I know." Annie waved off. "But you still kept me safe. Just like I kept you safe." She paused, wondering where she was going with this. "Before we started dating, I told Mina that this might happen. That you might find out the truth about me and hate me. She asked me if it mattered. If being happy with you for a short time would be worth you being angry at me for the rest of your life."

Thinking about her dead friend made her nauseous as she remembered the reason she died. _Because of her mission._

 _It's all a matter of whether or not you think he's worth the heartbreak._ Those were Mina's words to her.

"It was." Annie told Eren, "Every day with you was worth a thousand lives of heartbreak and loneliness. When I was with you, whether it was sitting warm and cozy by a fire, or holding hands under the table in the mess hall, or spending out free time with each other on our days off... For the first time in my life, I didn't feel alone. I didn't _want_ to be alone."

She looked up at Eren, who refused to meet her gaze. He was staring at the floor, wordlessly. His expression was hard to read.

"Is that all?" He asked.

Annie nodded. She was worried that if she said any more, she would burst into tears.

"Then get out."

The tears came anyways, building up in her eyes as she turned, not wanting Eren to see them. She gloomily walked back up the stairs, leaving Eren to his underground prison.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys. In case you didn't read the original upload of this chapter, this is a reupload. When I published the first ch3, I had just gotten my computer working again and I was anxious to get another chapter out to you and I ignored my usual policy of "quantity over quality" and put out chapter 3 as soon as possible. But user chase8999 is right, it was a pretty shit chapter. So I'm republishing, and I've edited the interactions. I hope you enjoy this chapter a little more! :P

* * *

"Hey," a voice said behind Annie.

Annie turned around, startled. A tall figure was walking towards her.

 _Oh,_ she thought, _Bertholdt._

"What're you doing here?" Bertholdt asked quietly. "It's cold, you know."

"I have my hoodie." Annie said, tugging on the collar subconsciously. She wanted the warmth of her deerskin blanket, though, her gift from Eren. For that matter, she wanted the warmth of Eren himself. She hadn't seen him in a while, though. A week? A month? Time had blurred by, completely indiscernible to her.

Bertholdt sat down. Annie wondered what his deal was. He had been trying to become closer to her since the whole "incident", when Zeke tried to find out if Eren possessed the coordinate. It annoyed the hell out of Annie.

"How are you feeling?" Bertholdt asked.

"I don't really see how that's any of your business." Annie replied coldly. "We aren't friends."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't be concerned."

"What do you want?"

Bertholdt shrugged. "You never answered my question."

"I haven't seem my father since Zeke's goons kidnapped me, and Eren still hates me, I killed nineteen people, and all of their deaths, and Marco's, haunt my dreams."

"Oh." Bertholdt was quiet for awhile. "So... Why do you care if Eren hates you?"

The question made Annie angry. Why did she care if the man she loved hated her to the core? That was the most stupid question she had ever been asked. It even beat out Connie's "Which is better: apples or cheese?"

"What's so great about Eren anyway?" Bertholdt asked absentmindedly.

Annie turned to him, scowling, and evaluated him. Was that contempt?

Bertholdt seemed to realize what he said and tried hastily to correct himself. "I mean, he's got anger issues, and he's reckless and unstable, and..."

Annie caught on. "Stop." Bertholdt fell silent. "Bertholdt, it's never going to happen between us, so get that through your head. I'm never going to love you like I love him, so don't waste either of our time trying to make it happen."

She realized that what she was saying was rather harsh, but she didn't care. It took a blunt object to drive a point into a thick skull. She didn't care about sparing Bertholdt's feelings, nor did she care about him as a person.

Bertholdt looked at the ground, downcast. "I'm sorry." He muttered, getting up to leave.

Annie wondered what Eren was dreaming about. He had meant it, hadn't he? When he said he never wanted to see her again?

She wished he hadn't. She wanted nothing more than to wrap herself in his arms and be with him again, whatever the cost of that may be. Was that really so much to ask?

Maybe it was. Maybe she just didn't _deserve_ it. Did she ever deserve Eren in the first place?

She wanted to talk to him. No, she _needed_ to talk to him. Even if it was just to say she was sorry. And he was going to listen, even if it was the last time he ever would.

She stood up and turned in the direction of Eren's holding cell.

* * *

Sweat dropped from Eren's nose as he continued his pushups. A while ago, he had decided to start working out again. It wasn't like he needed to maintain his fitness, it was more so to keep himself busy. He had long since become bored of the monotony of day-to-day life in his cell.

He also did it to keep his mind off of Annie. He had been having dreams about her, about their life back together. Not that he particularly wanted to. He was still incredibly conflicted about everything she had done, all the grief she had caused him. Petra, Oluo, Eld, and Guther's faces still haunted his dreams, and the images of their mutilated bodies, etched into his mind, flashed every time he closed his eyes.

Why?

Was it really necessary for her to kill them? Why did she even have to try? Was a life of safety on the interior of the walls not enough for her? Not only did she kidnap him and drag him out to God-Knows-Where, but she had killed so many people on the way.

He wanted to ask her. And a growing part of him desperately wanted to see him again. But she seemed to be listening to him, his demand that she never come near him again. He had meant it at the time, but now... Now, full of questions and a conflicting desire to be near her again, he wasn't so sure.

Eren finished his set of thirty pushups and sat down. Sweat ran down his chest and he lied down on his back, with his legs bent at a ninety-degree angle, hands folded behind his back. He brought his body up and touched his elbows to his knees. _One_. He lied back down and brought his body up again. _Two_.

He missed Annie.

He knew that somewhere, a part of him still loved her.

"Hey," a voice said behind him.

Eren stood up turned around. Annie was standing on the other side of the barred cell door.

Was this real? Or was it a dream again, and he was just fantasizing about all of this?

"Do you have a second?" She asked. Her eyes were looking towards the ground.

"Sure," Eren said, getting to his feet, "what is it?"

Annie smiled faintly, but it was enough for Eren to notice, and he felt relief _._ He was glad to see she was doing well, regardless of the negativity he felt about her. A brief thought crossed his mind, and Eren wondered how often she smiled since returning home, or if she had smiled at all.

"I wanted to talk to you." She said, looking up at him. When their eyes met, she seemed relieved. Had she been expecting to see a much frailer, weaker Eren?

"Well, as it turns out, I wanted to talk to you too." He said.

"I'm glad you're looking well." She continued.

"Yeah," Eren said absentmindedly, "I decided to start working out again."

"I can see that," Annie said. Eren noticed that her eyes were lingering on his body and felt partly humored, partly annoyed.

 _Same old Annie,_ Eren thought. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Do you still hate me?" Annie asked.

Eren had been wondering the question for awhile now, but he had only now realized the answer to the question. "I'm upset, and I know that." He began. "But hate? I'm not so sure. I don't think so. I think I was just hurt and needed to lash out at somebody, and I chose you. To be fair though... You kind of deserved it."

Annie was silent for a long time. Finally, she said, "I miss you a lot, Eren."

"I miss you too." Eren replied. He didn't elaborate any more than that, but it was true. At least some part of him, the part that still loved her, had missed her.

Her eyes wandered over to where Eren's bed was. He had been sleeping with the deerskin blanket since he saved her from that titan in the cage, and it lay strewn over the rough mattress.

"Oh, yeah," Eren said, "it's been colder at night, so I've been sleeping with it."

"Is that so," Annie asked, downcast.

"I mean, the fact that it reminds me of you helps, too." Eren added. It was the truth. The nightmares had been fewer and farther between since he slept with it. Not by a lot, but it was enough to be noticeable. His dreams of his dead squads didn't occur quite as often when he slept with it.

Annie seemed unconvinced. Eren walked over to the barred door and grabbed onto it loosely. He pressed his head on the door, so that his face was in between two bars, but his head couldn't fit through. The only things separating them were a few metal bars and a couple inches of empty space.

Annie placed her hands over Eren's. "I love you a lot."

Eren answered her with silence. Truth is, he wasn't ready to say it back again. But he allowed her to lean in close, and press her lips against his. When she kissed him, something stirred within him. A mixture of instinct and longing persuaded him to match the movement of the lips, and he kissed her back.

* * *

Annie felt like she would melt from the kiss. She had been longing for this feeling again for so long, and had expected to never experience it again. She was glad she was wrong.

She broke away from the kiss with an enormous smile across her face. She looked at Eren, his expression still clouded and hard to read, but something in his eyes suggested a possibility for a full reconciliation.

Her smile faded as she remembered what drove him to break up with her in the first place. Her thoughts reverted to his squad, and the other people she had killed.

"Eren?" She asked.

Eren noticed her serious demeanor and cocked his head. "Yeah?"

"Do you think you'll ever forgive me? For everything I've done, I mean."

Eren's expression grew somber and downcast. "A lot of good people are dead because o you. I can't just forgive you overnight for that. It'll take time, if it ever does happen. But... I need to know everything you've done first. Everything having to do with your... Mission. You're going to come clean about it if you want us to have a chance."

Annie told him everything. He sat in silence, watching her with those judgmental eyes, boring into her and trying to make sense of the information. She told him about her father's ideologies, and what Homeland thought of the humans. His eyes darkened when she told him about Marco—Reiner had forced her, she had assured him—and she stopped after she left the safety of the walls to chase after him. When she finished, Eren was silent for a long time.

"How's your father?" Eren asked. Annie felt a numbing cold at the question. "I don't know," she said, "I haven't seen him since before you saved me from being eaten."

Eren seemed to sense her distress. "Have you asked Zeke about it?"

"He won't talk to me about it." She said. "But I know he has something to do with it."

"Oh," replied Eren. He had never been any good at giving advice to people, and apparently recognized it because he kept silent.

"Can we not talk about it?" Annie asked.

"Sure, if that's what you want." Eren said. "So... What _do_ you want to talk about then?"

A subject of conversation popped into Annie's head. "Bertholdt tried to hit on me earlier," she said, his efforts more futile and pathetic in hindsight than they were in the present.

Eren let out a laugh. Annie was surprised, glad for it; she hadn't heard him laugh in a long time, wasn't sure if she would ever hear it again. "Bertholdt?" he asked. "That's hilarious! Bertholdt... Meek, passive Bertholdt..."

His laughter died down and the smile began to melt off his face. "Yeah, to be honest with you, I thought he might. He told me to stay away from you when he led me to the cage. Told me I wasn't 'good enough' for you. I just didn't think he'd muster up the guts to do anything about it."

"I was surprised too," Annie said, "but don't worry, he's too weak for me to ever even consider. And I let him know."

"I'm not worried," Eren replied, "he does well in the field, but he's not exactly good boyfriend material, it seems."

"Speaking of boyfriend," Annie asked, "does this mean we've made up? Are we... You know... Back together?"

Eren cocked his head, thinking about it. "I'm still upset at you, you know."

Annie's heart sunk into her gut. Why couldn't he see that the only reason she did any of this was for him? She had given up her morality, tainted her hands with the blood of innocents, to bring him to safety. Why couldn't he see that?

* * *

Annie found herself, while walking back to her house, smiling in spite of Eren's response. She and Eren weren't back together, but one thing had been made clear by their conversation: there was a chance that they might be, if she played her cards right. The relief and happiness distracted her, and she didn't notice the light coming from the war hall until she was close enough to hear the voices coming from within.

"But who should be the one to receive it?" A gruff older voice asked.

"I think it should be put to a vote." Another voice a female voice, replied.

"Zeke is our leader, so he should be the one to receive it." Another male voice prompted.

"I think," this voice was Zeke's, "that we should find a way to return the Coordinate to the human king."

"Why?" Several voices asked in disunion.

"I have my reasons." Zeke answered.

"Zeke, you can't just keep your reasons to yourself. We all have a right to understand what it is that you're planning."

"In due time." Zeke replied.

Annie began to feel anxious. All this talk of transferring the Coordinate made her uneasy. If transferring the Coordiante was anything like transferring Titan shifter abilities, then...

She wasn't ready to let Eren die. She just found out that she could get him back.

"I'm your commander. As such, my say is the final word. The only reason I'm having this meeting anyways is to hear any ideas that I hadn't thought about."

A chorus of disapproval sounded from inside the war hall.

"Quiet!" Zeke yelled. "Do you stand against your commander?!"

The room fell silent. Zeke continued. "We will extract the spinal fluid from the child. We can then bottle it and send somebody to ensure that the bottle reaches the king, and that he drinks it. Or they can inject it. Frankly, I don't care how it happens, so long as the royal bloodline inherits the Coordinate ability once more."

"But sir... What will happen to the child?"

"When we have no more use for him, we'll kill him. It's simple."

Horror flooded Annie's system. She backed away and ran in the direction of her house. _They were going to kill Eren._

She crashed the door open and a familiar figure stood on the other end of the doorway. From the placement of his hand, he was going to open the door and walk out.

"Annie?" Her father asked, "What are you doing?"

She was stunned to say the least. Her father had returned home?

"Where have you...?" Annie began.

"Annie?" Her father asked quizzically, "What's going on?"

Did he not remember?

"You've been gone for days! Weeks, maybe!" Annie said harshly, "Where have you been?"

"Annie, you're not making sense. I've been here this whole time!"

What had Zeke done to him?

"Father, they're... They're going to kill Eren." Annie whispered, "What should I do?"

Her father was silent for awhile. "I don't know."

Annie was reminded of where her social ineptitude came from. Her father had probably been sheltered too, so he hadn't much exposure to situations even remotely close to this. He probably wasn't the best person to ask.

Annie looked at the ground. "It's okay." She said, walking past her father.

"But," her father began, "If it were you that they were going to kill, I'd do everything in my power to prevent that. You're my little girl, Annie. I care about you, and you have to protect the things you care about."

Annie regarded her father quizzically. Whatever it was that Zeke did to him, he had recovered incredibly quickly. If Annie hadn't known better, she would have honestly believed that he had been with him the entire time. And yet, he was providing honest and truthful advice from the bottom of his heart.

It was strange, but Annie was grateful for the advice. She continued to her room and closed the door behind her. She opened the sliding door to her closet and looked at the metal contraption before her.

It had been a long tine since she used her 3DM gear.

* * *

 _Annie had pushed herself too hard again. Strain on her body had caused a bunch of exhaustion all throughout her body, especially in her arms and legs, due to the immense amount of exercise she had been forcing herself to do. And even so, Eren had to literally drag her to sickbay for recuperation._

 _He worried for her. He knew what he was fighting for, and was perfectly willing to share his reason for subjecting himself to similar levels of stress, but what was it that drove her? She still wouldn't tell him. Despite having spent so much time with each other, Eren barely knew anything about her apart from her personality and her likes and dislikes. He was clueless on most of her past, and for the most part, what she was thinking about was a mystery._

 _But it was one of the things about her that intrigued him. Her mysterious nature kept their relationship exciting. Not to say that it would be boring without it, but it was a nice touch._

 _"Eren?" Annie asked, sitting up in the bed._

 _"Yeah?" Eren answered, looking at his girlfriend from the chair by her bedside._

 _"Do you honestly think that we can defeat the titans?"_

 _Eren thought about it. "I don't know. But if we never try, then the answer is always going to be 'no', isn't it?"_

 _"I guess." Annie replied._

 _"You want to be rid of them, don't you?" Eren asked._

 _Annie dodged the question. "I want to not have to wonder if today is the day I'm going to die, yes. And I want for both of us to be safe. Interpret that how you will."_

 _"Annie, what's wrong?" Eren asked. "You're not acting like yourself."_

 _Annie let out a wry laugh. "Am I that transparent?" She asked. "It's nothing, don't worry. I'm just thinking."_

 _"About what?"_

 _"Well," she began, "when this is all over, if it ever is... What's going to happen to us? Or, what if you meet some pretty girl in the Survey Corps and forget about me completely?"_

 _Was she afraid of this? Eren wondered. It wasn't like her to be afraid of... Well, anything. Where did this even come from? Why was she bringing this up?_

 _"Don't worry about it." He reassured her, smiling. "I'm not gonna go falling in love with someone else. Besides, you'll beat the crap out of me if I do."_

 _Annie smiled. "Damn right I will." She grabbed the collar of Eren's shirt and pulled him in close. Eren cocked his head and smiled relaxedly, then closed the gap between them and pressed his lips against her._

Forever _, he thought._

* * *

In case you havent noticed, BertAnnie is my absolute NOTP. I hate it. Just seeing their names in such close proximiy together makes me sick. EreAnnie for life.


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